Door hangers

ABSTRACT

A door hanger for suspending folding doors from an overhead track having a resiliently mounted roller carrier reciprocably disposed on a stem which is removably mounted on a door plate and which is latched in place by a sliding latch.

Elnited States Patent [191 Johnson 1 DOOR HANGERS [76] lnventor: Leonard E. Johnson, 7 Susquehanna Rd.,' Elkhart, 1nd. 46514 [22] Filed: Sept. 11, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 287,894

[52] HS. Cl 16/97, 16/105, 16/144 [51] Int. Cl A47h 15/00 [58] Field of Search 16/94 R, 97, 6, 105, 144; 292/302, 303, 68, 69, 339, 277; 49/409, 410,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1895 McCabe ..16/98 3/1918 Hathaway. 292/302 June 4, 1974 DeVries '292/302 X Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant ExaminerPeter A. Aschenbrenner [57] ABSTRACT A door hanger for suspending folding doors from an overheadtrack having a resiliently mounted roller carrier reciprocably disposed on a stem which is removably mounted on a door plate and which is latched in place by a sliding latchl 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 DOOR HANGERS The present invention is an improvement over my earlier door hanger disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,957,197 issued Oct. 25, 1960. As shown in my earlier patent, the roller carrier is threadedly adjustable and is latched in place by a rotatable latch which resiliently grips the carrier stem. The threaded adjustment requires sufficient clearance between the top of the folding doors and the trim over the overhead track to permit the insertion of an adjusting tool. Also, once adjusted the distance remains fixed between the top of the doors and the track and does not accommodate for slight misalignment in installation or for distortions or changes in the door and frame geometry as the structure ages or warps. The rotary latch in my prior hanger is exposed to possible damage. misalignments It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, protected latch means for removably securing a door hanger to a folding door.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a door hanger to suspend a folding door from an overhead track which will accommodate for variations and changes in the geometry of the door and its frame.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in-connection with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view showing the door hangers of the present invention suspending folding doors from an overhead track,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the door hangers shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing the latch and latch plate of FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 1, numeral 10 designates a door hanger for suspending a folding door 12 from an overhead track 14. The doors 12 are pivoted adjacent door jambs 16 by means of pivots 18 and 20. As best seen in FIG. 2, door hanger 10 comprises a plate 22 secured to the top of a door 12. Plate 22 is formed with spaced edge sections 24 and 26, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, and a raised bridge portion 28 between the edge sections which define a latch guideway 30. A slot 32 is formed in bridge portion 28 with a socket portion 34 of smaller diameter than the slot. The hanger 10 is provided with a stem 36 having a head 38 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of slot 32 but larger than the diameter of socket 34 which it is adapted to underlap.

A resilient latch 40 is slidably mounted in guideway 30. Latch 40 has a body portion 42 spanning the space between edge portions 24 and 26 and flanges 44 and 46 respectively overlapping edge portions 24 and 26. A groove 48 is formed in latch 40 and aligned with slot 32. Groove 48 has a raised portion 50 and a lowered portion 52 selectively registerable with socket 34. Latch 40 is preferably made from resilient material such as nylon which can be softened and which in the softened state bent in a shallow U-shape whereby the latch 40 may be inserted in the guideway 30 from underneath plate 22 and then straightened with flanges 44 and 46 overlapping the edge portions 24 and '26.

Latch 40 is slideable to a latched position which, as shown in FIG. 4, raised portion 50 in groove 48 is in registration with socket 34 and in engagement with the head 38 of stem 36. Movement of latch 40 to the unlatched position brings the lowered portion 52 of groove 48 in registration with socket 34 whereby head 38 may be lowered out of engagement with socket 34 and removed through slot 32.

A roller carrier 54 is formed with a stepped bore 56 which is adapted to receive stem 36. A land 58 formed on stem 36 is adapted to engage carrier 54 when it is its lowest position. A spring 60 is confined in stepped bore 56 by a spring retainer 62 to resiliently urge carrier 54 into engagement with land 58.

Rollers 64 are mounted on carrier 54 by means of axles 66 formed of resilient material such as nylon which are disposed at a slight angle to the carrier body. Each axle 66 is formed with an annular ridge 68 adjacent its outer end which is adapted to snap over the outer edge of the axle bore 70 formed in each roller.

As is apparent from the foregoing description the latch 40 provides for a very compact and simple means for latching and unlatching the door hanger 10 from a door without use of special tools and with a minimum clearance between the door and overhead track. The spring 60 permits the roller carrier to move vertically relative to the top of the door to thereby permit the hanger to accommodate for misalignment or distortions or variations in the geometry of a door or its frame.

Although only one embodiment has been described it will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that other modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A door hanger adapted to suspend a door from an overhead track comprising a plate adapted to be secured to the top of said door, said plate being formed with spaced edge sections and a raised bridge portion therebetween, said bridge portion and spaced edge sections defining a latch guideway, a slot in said bridge portion formed with a socket portion of smaller diameter than said slot, a stem rotatably and removably mounted in said socket and formed with a head of smaller diameter than said slot and adapted to underlap said socket, a resilient latch slidably mounted in said guideway, said latch having a body portion spanning said spaced edge portions and having flange portions overlapping said spaced edge portions, a groove formed in said latch and aligned with the slot in said bridge portion, said groove having a raised portion and a lowered portion selectively registerable with said socket, said latch being moveable in said guideway between a latched position wherein said raised position is in registration with said socket and in engagement with the head of said stem and an unlatched position wherein said lowered portion of said groove is in registration with said socket whereby said stem may be re moved from said socket and detached from said plate through said slot, a carrier mounted on said stem, and a roller rotatably mounted on said carrier for engagement with said track.

2. The door hanger of claim 1 wherein said stem is formed with a land and said carrier is formed with a bore adapted to receive said stem whereby said carrier is reciprocally mounted on said stem, and spring means is disposed in said bore to urge said carrier into engagement with said land. 

1. A door hanger adapted to suspend a door from an overhead track comprising a plate adapted to be secured to the top of said door, said plate being formed with spaced edge sections and a raised bridge portion therebetween, said bridge portion and spaced edge sections defining a latch guideway, a slot in said bridge portion formed with a socket portion of smaller diameter than said slot, a stem rotatably and removably mounted in said socket and formed with a head of smaller diameter than said slot and adapted to underlap said socket, a resilient latch slidably mounted in said guideway, said latch having a body portion spanning said spaced edge portions and having flange portions overlapping said spaced edge portions, a groove formed in said latch and aligned with the slot in said bridge portion, said groove having a raised portion and a lowered portion selectively registerable with said socket, said latch being moveable in said guideway between a latched position wherein said raised position is in registration with said socket and in engagement with the head of said stem and an unlatched position wherein said lowered portion of said groove is in registration with said socket whereby said stem may be removed from said socket and detached from said plate through said slot, a carrier mounted on said stem, and a roller rotatably mounted on said carrier for engagement with said track.
 2. The door hanger of claim 1 wherein said stem is formed with a land and said carrier is formed with a bore adapted to receive said stem whereby said carrier is reciprocally mounted on said stem, and spring means is disposed in said bore to urge said carrier into engagement with said land. 